Interview With Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin; Interview With Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz; Can Anything Slow Trump Down?; Jeb Bush Behind In Iowa and New Hampshire; What Do George Clooney And Jeb Bush Have In Common?. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 6, 2015 - 09:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:11]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Unbelievable.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Trump on top.

TRUMP: This is going to be a campaign like, I think, no other.

TAPPER: The billionaire widens his lead, even as he spars with Jeb Bush...

TRUMP: He just doesn't have the energy.

TAPPER: ... and stumbles on foreign policy questions. Will anything slow him down?

Plus, Sarah Palin, what she says President Obama missed on his historic trip to Alaska.

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: How about, while he was up here, he had carried a big stick, instead of a selfie stick?

TAPPER: And the position she'd like to hold in the Trump administration.

And breaking news: With Democrats bitterly split over Obama's Iran plan, his party's chairwoman is here live to reveal her vote.

Plus, the best political team on television will be here with insights from the campaign trail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C., where the state of our union is gunning for a fight.

This week, the so-called 11th commandment continued to go by the wayside, as the Republican pack let loose with attacks upon their front-runner, Donald J. Trump.

First up, Jeb Bush, who hit back after Trump criticized him for speaking Spanish on the trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. Trump doesn't believe in those shared values. He wants to tear us down. He doesn't believe in tolerance. He doesn't believe in the things that have created the greatness of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Then came Senator Marco Rubio, pouncing after Trump in a radio interview called a bunch of detailed foreign policy questions gotchas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think, if you don't the answer to those questions, you're not going to be able to serve as commander in chief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And Senator Rand Paul warning Republicans of dire consequences if they vote to make Trump their nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do think Donald Trump would be a disaster for the country and a disaster for our party. And I think we'd suffer the worst defeat since 1964.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: But, so far, none of this seems to be able to stop Trump, who jumped to his highest poll numbers yet this week. He's at 30 nationally in a Monmouth University poll, with fellow outsider Dr. Ben Carson in second place.

So, we decided we'd ask someone who knows a little bit about outsider campaigns to join us for insights into just what is happening inside the Republican race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And Sarah Palin is here, former Alaska governor, Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008 and author of the upcoming boat "Sweet Freedom: A Devotional."

Governor, thank you so much for joining us.

PALIN: Thank you so much, Jake. And I wish you were here to conduct the interview. We could be speaking in this beautiful vista together. But thanks for letting me be on.

TAPPER: Well, let's talk about Alaska. One of the reasons we really wanted to talk you to this weekend was

because President Obama visited your home state of Alaska this week for a rather significant presidential visit. He talked about a lot of things, but it started with his officially changing the name of the tallest peak in North America, or changing it back really from Mount McKinley to Denali.

The move was praised by Alaska's governor. But it was criticized by Donald Trump and John Kasich, who promised to change the name back if elected.

In your farewell address, you referred to the mountain as Denali. It was also your Secret Service code name, as you pointed out. Where do you come down on the name change?

PALIN: Well, I have one niece named McKinley, another niece named Denali.

I think that kind of is indicative, I think, of a bit of the split of Alaskans, whether it should be referred to as McKinley or Denali. The name of the national park, though, McKinley National Park, was changed to Denali some years ago. So, I thought that was good enough. We could keep McKinley as the highest peak on the North American continent. We could keep that name McKinley.

I think a lot of the criticism, though, Jake, is just the fact that Obama would spend the time, the effort, the political capital even on such a thing, when, you know, the Middle East is a tinderbox, our economy still sucks. So many things are going wrong right now that are under his purview, and yet he would make kind of it a big darn deal to come up here and rename the mountain. That's a lot of the criticism.

TAPPER: Well, as you know and as you wrote about, Obama, the emphasis of his trip was to highlight climate change, which is affecting Alaska and Alaskans more directly right now than most other states.

As you know better than I, winter temperatures in Alaska have warmed an average of 6 percent over the last 50 years, twice the national average. The village of Newkok -- Newtok, rather, may soon vanish entirely as the Ninglick River rises.

Listen to what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any so-called leader who does not take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke is not fit to lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:04]

TAPPER: Do you take climate changes seriously? PALIN: I take changes in the weather, the cyclical changes that the

globe has undergone for -- since the beginning of time, I take it seriously, but I'm not going blame these changes in the weather on man's footprint.

Obama was up here looking at, say, the glaciers and pointing out a glacier that was receding. Well, there are other glaciers, though, that are growing up here. And he didn't highlight that, but he used glaciers as an example.

One of the markers, though, that they use to measure the glacier that he was talking about, they started measuring, supposedly, as per this marker, a physical marker, back in the early 1800s. And then they started showing from there how it shrunk, it's receded.

Well, man's footprint, the first Mukwok (ph) was not even near that glacier in the early 1800s, when it started melting. It was before the Industrial Revolution. So, these blames on man's activity, some of that I know is bogus.

TAPPER: As I do -- I do want to just point out that the vast majority of climate change scientists disagree with your assessment.

But I would like to move on to these other guys, because you wrote about them on your post. And on July 4, the U.S. intercepted Russian bombers off the coast of Alaska and California. And, as you note, there are five Chinese warships off the coast of Alaska in the Bering Sea. Now, you say this is because China and Russia are no longer respectful or intimidated by the U.S.

What do you think President Obama should have done differently that could have changed what we are seeing done by Russia and China?

PALIN: OK.

Let's take his recent trip up here, which was pretty much a tourism jaunt, really. How about while he was up here, he had, as a president, carried a big stick, instead of a selfie stick. He could start tell -- publicly berating these countries that are sticking it to us with the messages that they are sending.

Putin right now is -- he's flagging undersea our resources, claiming them as his own. What is America doing about it? We don't even have a seat at the table under the Law of the Sea Treaty. We are not even participating in fighting back, putting America first and say, no, these are rich resources along our coast and, no, Russia. Hey, you lost out, man. You sold the territory of Alaska for 2 cents an acre way back when. You don't get it back.

But, instead, Putin is exerting power, and China is exerting power. And it all has to do with natural resources, too, with energy. They need those, of course, to prosper and to grow their empires. America is sitting back.

TAPPER: Let's turn to politics. Donald Trump made a lot of headlines this week when he appeared to

mistake the Quds Force, an Iranian military group, for the Kurds, Middle East people. He made his comments during an interview with conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

Senator Marco Rubio said about this, if you don't know the answer to these questions, you are not going to be commander in chief. You're not fit to be commander in chief, he suggested.

Trump says that the questions amounted to a game of gotcha. What did you think?

PALIN: I think I would rather have a president who is tough and puts America first than can win a game of "Trivial Pursuit."

Some of those questions, I don't know if other candidates were posed the same questions, so I don't know if they would have the answers. But I don't think the public gives a flying flip if somebody knows who, today, is a specific leader of a specific region or religion or anything else, because that will change, of course, when the next president comes into power, just based on the volatility of politics in these other areas.

So, I don't think the public is so concerned about that. And then it's kind of subjective, too, right, whether a candidate is worthy to be given attention and respect and be taken seriously if they don't know the leader of some tribe or a religion even a country, when -- how about other candidates who may not know the price of a barrel of oil today, or how much oil it is that we are importing from foreign nations, unfriendly foreign nations?

And we have a ban on exporting our own oil and we have prohibitions and bans on drilling for our own oil. Details may be involved in that that a candidate doesn't know, hey, I would be subjective and I would say, hey, if you don't know that, well, you're not worthy of being taken seriously, Mr. Candidate.

TAPPER: Donald Trump said this week that Jeb Bush should speak English and not Spanish when he's campaigning in the U.S. Jeb Bush's response was that Trump doesn't value tolerance.

What did you make of that debate?

PALIN: I don't know what -- choosing to speak English or Spanish in a conversation, what that would have to do with -- somebody opposing it, with tolerance or not.

[09:10:03]

I think that it's -- it's a benefit of Jeb Bush to be able to be so fluent in Spanish, because we have a large and wonderful Hispanic population that is helping to build America. And that's good. And that's a great relationship and connection that he has with them, through his wife and through his family connections.

On the other hand, you know, I think we can send a message and say, you want to be in America? A, you better be here legally, or you're out of here. B, when you're here, let's speak American. I mean, that's just -- that's -- let's speak English. And that's kind of a unifying aspect of a nation is the language that is understood by all.

But I took Spanish in high school. And I took French in high school. Shouldn't have taken them both, because I got them all mixed up by the time I was graduating.

(LAUGHTER)

PALIN: But, again, a benefit of Mr. Bush -- and I think that is one of those issues, too, where -- goes right over the public's head, legitimately so. They are on to the next issues that are very important for the candidates to be debating.

TAPPER: But, as you noted in your response, it's important for the Republican Party to expand and reach out to Hispanics, to Latinos.

In a speech to the National Press Club that some viewed as a -- almost an audition for vice president -- or at least vice president nominee, South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley, who you were an early supporter of, said that the Republican Party -- quote -- "often appears cold and unwelcoming to minorities." She said it's shameful and it has to change.

Do you agree?

PALIN: No, because I can't think of any Republican that I know who would have that in their heart.

I think Republicans and independents, that's the party of tolerance. It certainly doesn't matter the color of your skin and some of the other things that are bantered around as being kind of the judging barometer of whether somebody is welcome in the party or not.

TAPPER: Let's talk about an issue that is literally close to your heart. Ohio lawmakers are soon going to bring up legislation that would ban women from being legally allowed to terminate a presidency based on a diagnosis Down syndrome.

Governor Kasich has not yet taken a position on the bill. Do you want him to?

PALIN: Yes, I want him to.

Hmm. Do I think that it should be legal for a mom to snuff out the life of her baby just because the child has one extra chromosome? And not to personalize it too much, but I -- Trig is inside. I wish that he would, like he so often does, come over and tap me on my shoulder, and want to whisper something to me and share in whatever experience I'm going through.

I wish that more people could meet kids like Trig and so many others who have that extra chromosome. They're -- they are amazing, wonderful kids. They teach us more than we are ever going to able to teach them. They keep us grounded and put things in perspective in our lives.

No, I don't think, because the child has one extra chromosome, they should be able to snuff that life out. When I was pregnant and very early on, at 12 weeks, got the diagnosis that Trig would be born with Down syndrome, I know what moms go through when they are given that, at the time, to be honest with you, kind of devastating news.

It makes your world stop spinning for a bit there. And there's some fear there of the unknown. Certainly, there was fear in my heart about how in the world are we going to be able to handle the challenges up ahead, not necessarily thinking of the beauty that could come from a child being different, being unique.

And, as the months went by, though, and as I prayed about it, God, you know, make -- please, change my heart and my eyes so I can see the beauty in all this, so that I will be ready to be a good mom to this child, and he answered my prayers, and awesome. Trig is so wonderful.

But I do know what moms go through. And, Jake, I think the reason that 85 percent, in some areas, 90 percent of babies who have Down syndrome are aborted is that fear of the unknown and because culture has told these women -- and, again, I was there -- has told these women, you're not capable of being able to handle and nurture and love and raise a child with special needs. And it's just so much easier and convenient for you to just end it, pretend like it never happened, get rid of the child, get rid of the baby, and get on with a convenient life of your own.

So, with culture's kind of overall mind-set of life being able to just be thrown away, I know why that stat is what it is, is so high, is tragic. And, heck, for whatever I can do to help parents, though, who are facing such a challenge, at the beginning especially, to let them know you can do it and it's beautiful.

[09:15:08]

I wouldn't change anything about Trig. I wouldn't change anything about how this has so solidified our family's support for the sanctity of life, and for tolerance, for accepting people who are a little bit different.

TAPPER: Hillary Clinton might soon find herself in a debate with Joe Biden. You have been there. You have gone toe-to-toe with him.

I know you're not rooting for Hillary Clinton, but what advice would you offer anyone going toe-to-toe with Joe Biden in the debate?

PALIN: Joe Biden is -- he's such a character.

Nobody has to go in there being nervous. You can just kind of gauge via his personality that, you know, he -- I don't know. It's not that he doesn't take things seriously, but just kind of comes across as being pretty -- you know, pretty down-to-earth, pretty relaxed, so that opponent can do the same, and, at the same time, stick it to them if you want to win that debate. Start talking about what your accomplishments are. Start talking

about what your intentions are for this country. So, man, in those -- in that respect, Hillary Clinton wouldn't do very well against Joe Biden.

TAPPER: Donald Trump says that he would love to have someone of your strength in his administration.

When you take a look at the Cabinet, is there a particular area you think would line up best with your strengths, a position you would want to serve in?

PALIN: That's a great question.

I think a lot about the Department of Energy, because energy is my baby, oil and gas and minerals, those things that God has dumped on this part of the earth for mankind's use, instead of relying on unfriendly foreign nations for us to import their -- their resources.

I think a lot about Department of Energy. And if I were head of that, I would get rid of it. And I would let the states start having more control over the lands that are within their boundaries and the people who are affected by the developments within their space.

So, you know, if I were in charge of that, it would be a short-term job. But it would be -- it would be really great to have someone who knows energy and is pro-responsible development to be in charge.

TAPPER: All right, Secretary Sarah -- Sarah Palin, then, if Donald Trump is watching or any of the others.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Governor Palin, I will call you for the time being, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

How will the DNC chair and congresswoman vote on the Iran deal? She will reveal it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:44]

TAPPER: Welcome back.

Congress comes back this week to debate President Obama's hotly contested deal intended to tamp down Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The White House appears now to have enough votes to avoid it getting completely derailed by Congress. But it must sting to have so many inside the president's own party vowing to vote against the deal. Among the many, many conflicted Democrats, Democratic National Committee Chair and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

TAPPER: So, I know you spoke to the president, you spoke to the vice president.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I did.

TAPPER: Did you give them good news? Did you give them bad news? How are you going to vote?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You know, I have gone through a gut-wrenching, thought-provoking process, where I wrapped up that process by spending the last few weeks talking with my constituents.

And my number one goal in making this decision was to reach a conclusion based on what I thought would be most likely to prevent Iran from achieving their nuclear weapons goals. And in weighing everything, all the information that I have had in front of me, I concluded that the best thing to do is to vote in support of the Iran deal and make sure that we can put Iran years away from being a threshold nuclear state, and ensure that we can more closely concentrate on their terrorist activity.

So, I will be casting my vote to support the deal and, if necessary, sustain the president's veto.

TAPPER: What were some of the specifics about the deal that made this such a difficult decision for you? What parts of the deal do you wish were stronger?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: So, there are a number of things that really had given me angst and pause, and that still do.

I worry that the vigilance over the life of the deal may wane, not the United States' vigilance, but, you know, with the IAEA's enforcement, with the world that has been a party to this, that complacency could set in. I worry that the additional resources, no matter how little, that Iran would get access to, that they could divert to terrorist activity would cause harm to Jews and others around the world. I worry that we have to make sure that the monitoring is really as gap- free as possible.

But with all of that, in looking at those concerns, and even still having them, it was imperative for me to be able to make a decision, A, based on, is there a better alternative?

In thoroughly reviewing opponents' claims that we could using our banking system, for example, to wrestle our allies and Iran back to the negotiating table for a so-called better deal, no one presented me with any evidence to show me that that was possible.

And in talking to our allies' ambassadors, in talking to nuclear experts, in talking to our intelligence officials in top-secret briefings, in talking to Secretary Lew, it was very clear that global economic chaos would be caused if you had even attempted that, that if we walked away from the deal, no matter what, Iran gets access to additional resources.

[09:25:03]

And if we walk away from the deal, then what results is, they have additional resources. They still have the ability to ramp up and move towards their nuclear weapons goals.

TAPPER: Yes.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: And we have none of the monitoring, none of the accountability, none of the inspections. And...

TAPPER: And the deal would provide that?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: And the deal ensures that at least those very robust -- the most intrusive inspections and monitoring that we have ever imposed or that have ever been agreed to.

TAPPER: A few weeks ago, the Associated Press revealed that they had seen a document that would suggest that Iran, when it came to the military installation at Parchin, Iran would get to self-inspect.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Right.

And when -- I had -- the day -- that story came out the day before I had an entire morning's worth of briefings, top-secret briefings in the Situation Room. I walked in...

TAPPER: You went to the Situation Room?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I did.

I have been -- I was in the Situation Room probably 20 times over the last two years, from the beginning of the discussions about the preliminary agreement all the way through to two Fridays ago, when that story came out.

I brought that story into the Situation Room with our -- some of our intelligence officials who I can't obviously reveal who they were, put that story in front of them. And I said, "If this is true, I am a no. I want you to clearly understand that. You need to address this concern."

And I was given probably the most thorough review that almost any member had access to as far as what the actual process is for Iran to reveal their previous military dimensions at Parchin. And I can say in no uncertain terms, without revealing the details, that they cannot self-inspect.

TAPPER: They can't?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Cannot.

TAPPER: OK.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Absolutely cannot, and that the IAEA -- and, in fact, the head of the IAEA came out immediately -- and they hardly ever comment, Jake, but the head of the IAEA said that that was absolutely not the case.

It's an excruciatingly detailed process that they will have to go through to certify.

TAPPER: OK.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: And they cannot self-inspect.

TAPPER: We only have...

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: That was incredibly important to me.

TAPPER: We only have about a minute left, but I want to address something that's very clear to you, I know, in that there are a lot of constituents of yours, there are a lot of Jews who are going to say, you sold out Israel.

And what are you going say to them?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You know, I'm the first Jewish woman to represent Florida in Congress. I'm a Jewish mother.

And I wrote an op-ed today that is in "The Miami Herald," my home -- one of my hometown papers, that talked about my Jewish heart and how important this was to me that, as a Jewish mother, that we have a concept of l'dor v'dor, from generation to generation.

There's nothing more important to me, as a Jew, to ensure that Israel's existence is there throughout our generations. And I'm confident that the process I have gone through to reach this decision is one that will ensure that Israel will be there forever. It's the homeland of my people.

I'm an American citizen, and I believe fervently in protecting America's national security interests. And there's no way that we would be able to ensure that better than approving this deal and ensuring that Iran is not ever able to get access to nuclear weapons, and that we can shift our focus with the rest of the world on going after their terrorist ambitions.

And, most importantly, I had the privilege of talking with President Obama last night, who assured me that, as we move forward and discuss with Israel enhanced -- the enhanced security package that will absolutely be essential for us to provide to Israel, as well as ensure that we tighten the ability -- our ability to enforce this deal, that I will be part of a group of members of Congress that will be working with him and his administration on that. That's critical for me.

TAPPER: You have agreed to come back. And you will talk to me on Tuesday on "THE LEAD," so we can address that.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Yes, absolutely. Look forward to that.

TAPPER: Thank you so much for talking to me about this very tough decision for you.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: As police hunt for evidence in this week's mysterious cop- killing in Illinois, one Republican points the finger for the uptick in violence at President Obama -- that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Is a "gotcha" question in the eye of the beholder? That is one of the questions for this week's panel. Ken Cuccinelli, president of Senate Conservatives Fund, CNN's chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, CNN political contributor, Patti Solis Doyle, and Manu Raju who just joined CNN as a senior political reporter. Welcome to CNN, great to have you here.

So let us start with first of all some breaking numbers we have out of Iowa and New Hampshire when it comes with the political race there. In Iowa -- let's start with the Republicans. In Iowa. We have Trump 29, Carson 22, Bush six, Fiorina, five, Paul, five, Walker, five.

And let's go to New Hampshire because this is where the numbers are even more surprising. Trump 28, Kasich 12, Carson 11, Bush down to fourth place -- eight percent, Fiorina six, Walker four.

Ken, let me start with you. What is happening to Jeb Bush?

KEN CUCCINELLI, PRESIDENT, SENATE CONSERVATIVES FUND: Well, he is in a bit I'd call a small collapse. It's only September. But with Kasich leaping ahead of him like that that's a major problem for Bush. That's a major problem for Bush in New Hampshire. GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, Kasich has been

smart. He spent early money in New Hampshire and he knows if he got a shot it's going to be...

CUCCINELLI: Right.

BORGER: ...in the state of New Hampshire and spend --

TAPPER: Why?

BORGER: Well, because in the primary, independents can cross over.

CUCCINELLI: Right.

BORGER: Kasich's brand of politics he likes to say is not particularly partisan. He's a governor who gets things done with broad (ph) appeal (ph). And if New Hampshire voters are looking for somebody a little different and they don't want to play dynastic politics and you're (ph) -- so you're a little bit -- you're a little bit unhappy with Jeb Bush you might give Kasich a view.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: And Kasich and Jeb both running the same lane, politically.

[09:35:00] TAPPER: Yes, established, moderate.

RAJU: Established, moderate. And this poll just confirms that Kasich is a huge threat to Jeb who continues to catch fire.

PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And I also think that, you know, Jeb is losing to Trump every day on this back and forth, on attacking each other. He just -- you know, he can't compete with Trump on the art of the attack. He just -- he loses every day.

TAPPER: Speaking of which let's play some sound from an interview Donald Trump did with conservative radio host, Hugh Hewitt. He will be joining me at the Reagan Library Debate on September 16th. Here's a quick excerpt from that interview.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

HUGH HEWITT, HOST, "THE HUGH HEWITT SHOW": Are your familiar with General Soleimani?

TRUMP: Yes -- I -- go ahead, give me a little -- go ahead. Tell me.

HEWITT: He runs the Quds Forces.

TRUMP: Yes, okay. Right.

HEWITT: Do you expect his behavior --

TRUMP: And I think the Kurds, by the way, have been horribly mistreated by --

CUCCINELLI: Well, that wasn't the most "gotcha" like part of that interview. It was when he rattled through a list of names and you know --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: But he didn't ask him -- no, he rattled through a list of names but he said, do you know who these people are. He didn't say --

CUCCINELLI: Right, right, right. But it looks a lot like --

TAPPER: Do you think -- so, you think this was kind of a "gotcha" interview?

CUCCINELLI: No. It was very legitimate subject matter.

TAPPER: Yes.

CUCCINELLI: But I think the way it was done is problematic.

And, you know, you asked a question, something along the lines of who will this matter to. Well, I've got news for you it (INAUDIBLE) matter with (ph) the average voter in the primary.

TAPPER: So, that's what matters to Trump -- it's what matters to the other 16 candidates. And a question like that, I'll take you back four years will get a Newt Gingrich-like response in a debate.

CUCCINELLI: Right.

TAPPER: And the candidate will win that exchange with the voters. Let me play some --

(CROSSTALK)

CUCCINELLI: Panels like this will sit around and go, oh, that's a terrible issue.

(LAUGHTER)

CUCCINELLI: But the voters -- but the voters are going to be with their (ph) candidate (ph).

BORGER: It's not going to change the opinion of anybody who supports Donald Trump. Number one, nobody who supports Donald Trump is going to watch that interview and say, oh, never mind.

CUCCINELLI: Yes.

BORGER: They're -- you know, they're going say, this is a man who can learn on the job, who's smart, who's successful, and that's why you hire somebody.

TAPPER: Another back and forth on the campaign trail this week came when Donald Trump criticized Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish on the stump. Take a listen.

Oh, it's a graphic. OK. Never mind. He said -- Donald Trump said, "I like Jeb. He's a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States."

And here is what Jeb Bush said on "Good Morning America" in response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is trying to insult his way to the presidency, is not going to work. The fact that he would say you only can speak English is kind of ridiculous. This is a diverse country. We should -- we should celebrate that diversity.

Mr. Trump doesn't believe in those shared values. He wants to tear us down. He doesn't believe in tolerance. He doesn't believe in the things that have created the greatness of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That is some strong, strong language from Jeb Bush.

RAJU: Yes. And it shows the shift in the Jeb campaign.

Clearly over the last couple of weeks they made the calculation that Jeb -- that Trump is here to stay. And we (ph) need (ph) to engage with him and try to turn this into a two-man race, compare and contrast their record. And Jeb is taking this, you know, almost rebutting that attack that Donald Trump is (INAUDIBLE) he's a low- energy candidate to show that. He's actually got fire in the belly.

So, whether this works remains to be seen. Because even if he wants to make this a one-on-one race. There are 15 other candidates in the race. So, that's a big question for Jeb going forward.

TAPPER: Patti.

DOYLE: Well look, I think this is good for Jeb Bush.

I mean, he's married to a Mexican-American woman. The fact that he can speak Spanish is a good thing especially if you're running for president and you want to appeal to Hispanic voters nationwide. So, I think this is good for him. But again I think he loses that engagement with Donald Trump, because he's just not as good as it as Trump is. RAJU: Certainly (ph) (INAUDIBLE).

TAPPER: We're going to take -- we're going to take a quick break and then we have a whole Democratic race to discuss.

When we come back, new details about the State Department staffer that Clintons' paid to build their at (ph) home (ph) server. This, as Hillary Clinton apologizes, kind of?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:22]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I_VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, obviously, I think the secretary's people are getting very nervous about the kind of energy and enthusiasm our campaign is bringing forth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Senator Bernie Sanders yesterday in Altoona, Iowa, talking about the fact that he seems to be getting attacked a lot by surrogates for the campaign of Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. And he says it's because they are nervous.

Let talk about it with our panel, Patti, former campaign manager for Hillary Clinton in 2008. Sanders is up 41 percent to Clinton's 32 percent in New Hampshire. Clinton is still ahead in Iowa by 11 points but she is falling quite a bit. Sanders 37 to Clinton's 48.

Is she nervous? Should she be nervous?

DOYLE: I don't know if nervous is the right word for it but this has clearly become a very competitive race for her and I think competitive is good.

You know, she's always better when she's fighting for it. She's better when she's fighting for the middle class, for women and children, and more importantly when she's fighting for her own candidacy. I think she proved that in '08 when she was losing to Barack Obama. She became a much better candidate. It was too late then at that point when she turned it around. But it's not too late now and I think with a competitive race you're going to see a much better candidate from Hillary Clinton and it's a good thing for her.

BORGER: But she's also fighting against herself. Right? She's not only fighting against Bernie Sanders but she's got her own problems. The e-mail issue is something, you know, that was addressed again this week and she, in a tortured way --

TAPPER: Let's take -- I want to play it.

BORGER: OK. TAPPER: Gloria (ph), you let me know about some interesting comments she made in her interview with Andrea Mitchell. Let's play that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:45:00] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I am very confident that by the time this campaign has run its course, people will know that what I've been saying is accurate. They may disagree, as I now disagree, with the choice that I made. But the facts that I have put forth have remained the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So Gloria, Hillary Clinton now disagrees with the choice that she made.

BORGER: Yes. It's a little tortured syntax (ph) to me and I think -- you know, look, Hillary Clinton is a practiced politician. She knows that if she had apologized, she would have to admit wrongdoing. So, she didn't apologize. She kind of walked around it and walked around it.

CUCCINELLI: Two points. First of all. She admitted it was her choice. And you and I were talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: Right. But she disagrees with --

CUCCINELLI: Right. She disagrees with it but she just admitted knowledge and knowledge isn't even requires for fences in this area.

TAPPER: And Ken --

BORGER: You're a lawyer --

TAPPER: Did you prosecute somebody or defend somebody?

CUCCINELLI: No, I defended. I defended a court martial.

TAPPER: In a court martial.

CUCCINELLI: And (ph) I (ph) mean (ph) Congressman (ph) (INAUDIBLE) jumped on this. He said look, those of us in uniform we get thrown out. We (INAUDIBLE) the big chicken dinner --

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: You think this is the no-brainer -- you think this is a no- brainer she did something potentially illegal?

CUCCINELLI: Oh, absolutely. And you don't need (INAUDIBLE) in this area. It's a strict liability offense.

TAPPER: What's the offense? CUCCINELLI: The offense is possession of classified material in an unsecured location. You don't need anything more than that. That's what my client was charged with lieutenant coronel, Marine Corps (ph), a great service record. And it -- that is a violation of the law.

TAPPER: Patti, I know you want to say something --

DOYLE: Well, I want to say the Department of Justice disagrees with you.

DOYLE: The prosecutor (INAUDIBLE) case (ph) disagrees with you. There is no criminal investigation, so --

(CROSSTALK)

RAJU: The criminality, the legality is one question. But the political fall-out is real.

I mean, she is getting hit hard on the trustworthiness question that's hurting her in a lot of these key swing states. And it's a reason why Bernie is catching fire. I mean, this is a real issue for her.

(CROSSTALK)

CUCCINELLI: The top two words people associate with her are liar and dishonest. How did you carry that --

BORGER: She's a challenge for Republicans which is she's going to testify before the Benghazi committee...

TAPPER: In October --

BORGER: ...October 22nd and, they have to question her about this, without making it look like it's a partisan inquiry.

CUCCINELLI: That is challenging.

BORGER: I mean -- and it is -- it is tricky because if they look like they are just attacking her on this, she can do -- she can do really well. But she does have questions she needs to answer better than the way she answered --

(CROSSTALK)

DOYLE: Well, I think -- I think the campaign is doing and she is doing -- they are going to be doing many more interviews.

I mean, it's my understanding Andrea Mitchell was just the beginning. She's going be doing a lot of them and be answering these questions on a regular basis hopefully to the point where by the time she gets to the committee --

BORGER: We'll be bored with it. We'll be bored with it.

TAPPER: Hopefully she'll come to the STATE OF THE UNION. Hopefully she'll come here at the STATE OF THE UNION.

We've been trying to get her for some time.

Thank you so much Gloria Borger, Ken Cuccinelli, Patti Solis Doyle, Manu Raju. Great to have you here. As always thanks so much.

BORGER: Welcome.

RAJU: Thank you.

TAPPER: Football season is under way and this University of Kentucky game was about to kick off before a very strange interruption. That, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:52:38]

TAPPER: There's some news happening around the world and we want to bring you up to speed.

Pope Francis this morning asking every parish in Europe, starting with his own to take in a refugee family as the continent struggles to manage a sudden influx of refugees and migrants fleeing the war in Syria. 11,000 refugees have crossed into Austria this weekend, the most headed for Germany, which is perceived as the most welcoming nation in Europe.

Crews in California are trying to free a blue whale who has been caught in a fishing line. The whale, more than 80 feet long, got snagged but then disappeared. So, a full scale search is now under way for the animal. Last spotted near Catalina Island off the Southern California coast. The blue whale is the world's largest animal and an endangered species.

A drone crashed into the University of Kentucky football stadium last night just before kickoff. Thankfully no one was hurt but police are investigating how the drone got there. This is the second time this week a drone interrupted a sporting event.

A drone whizzed over players at the U.S. Open on Thursday before slamming into a seat. Police arrested a New York City teacher for that incident. After the break. What do George Clooney and Jeb Bush have in common?

The answer awaits at my giant cartoon wall with a brand-new "State of the Cartoonion."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:23]

TAPPER: Welcome back. On Tuesday Stephen Colbert makes his debut as the host of "The Late Show." His first guest George Clooney and the ever so slightly less glamorous, Jeb Bush. Proof that the talk show host's couch is still an essential stop on the road to the White House. It's this week's "State of the Cartoonion."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. John Kennedy.

TAPPER (voice-over): It's really all John F. Kennedy's fault. He is the one who visited "The Tonight Show" with Jack Paar in 1959 and broke that barrier of politicians going on entertainment talk shows.

Candidate Bill Clinton brought the house down on Arsenio Hall before his 1992.

The (ph) President Obama really lowered the bar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What should we do about --

TAPPER: Propping up between two ferns with Zach Galifianakis and of course with GloZell on YouTube.

This week a bunch of candidates will hit the talk show couch where questions can be as soft as the cushions.

Hillary Clinton will appear with Ellen DeGeneres. Instead of dancing around questions about her email server she is likely to actually dance around. Donald Trump, he might slow jam the news with Jimmy Fallon. And Jeb Bush will appear on Stephen Colbert's brand-new talk show. All this for an election season that might be giving David Letterman a reason to want to come out of retirement.

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: These are beautiful ties.

TRUMP: They are great ties.

LETTERMAN: The ties are made in China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:59:55]

TAPPER: Thanks for watching.

Please mark your calendars, the CNN Republican Debate is September 16th a week from Wednesday. And I will be moderating. I want to hear your questions. Tweet them using #CNNdebate.